HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A question about a missing drill was met with an answer no employee expected, according to the sheriff’s office.
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Deputies say a conversation between two men at a junkyard took an unexpected turn Saturday afternoon.
Hall County deputies were called to GO Pull-It on Athens Highway after receiving reports of a man waving a handgun in the junkyard.
Authorities said a 19-year-old Gainesville man who works at the business was searching for a drill and asked another man, later identified as Michael Bell, 37, of Gainesville, if he had seen it.
According to deputies, Bell replied “no,” that he had not seen the drill, but added, “I do have this,” referring to a handgun in his waistband.
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The sheriff’s office said Bell then allegedly pulled out the gun, chambered a round and began waving the gun around.
The employee ran to the front of the business, where another worker called 911.
During the investigation, deputies learned Bell allegedly had found the gun in a roadside ditch. Authorities said the gun had been reported missing on May 26.
Bell was arrested and charged with felony theft of lost or mislaid property, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and misdemeanor simple assault.
He was booked into the Hall County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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